I'm blown away by the virtual New York City of 'Spider-Man' on PlayStation 4 — here's how it compares to the real thing

Forget "Sex & the City" — HBO's version of Manhattan never let Carrie swing majestically from the skyscraper rooftops, like some sort of magical bird.

In the recent "Spider-Man" game for the PlayStation 4, you've got free rein to fly across vast swaths of Manhattan's iconic skyline. From Battery Park to North Harlem, the West Side Highway to the FDR Drive, Spidey's able to soar through the air and take in the sights.

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What's most impressive isn't just the scale, but how closely that virtual version of Manhattan matches up with the real thing.

See for yourself:

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One World Trade Center in "Spider-Man":

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It's the tallest building in Spider-Man's Manhattan, just like in real life:

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And here is One World Trade in real life. A slightly different design, but not too different.

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The Battery Park in Spider-Man's Manhattan is slightly smaller than the real thing:

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In reality, Battery Park is much larger — it spans the majority of Manhattan's southern tip, and bleeds into the Staten Island Ferry Terminal.

Governor's Island was used as a Coast Guard outpost until the mid-'90s, when it was converted to a recreational space. The entire perimeter of the island is a track for running, walking, and cycling. It's accessible from Brooklyn and Manhattan via ferry, which is free.

In "Spider-Man," you're only able to swing around Manhattan. No Queens, nor Staten Island, The Bronx, and Brooklyn. It's a real shame, but also Manhattan is gigantic.

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It's hard to convey how much I want to swing around my borough as Spider-Man, but I understand why "Spider-Man" maker Insomniac Games didn't re-create all five boroughs of New York City: It would be an absurd task!

As it is, Manhattan in "Spider-Man" is gigantic — and "Spider-Man" features a heavily truncated version of Manhattan. If players could swing all the way from Jamaica Bay to East New York to the West Side Highway, it could be overwhelming.

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From bottom to top, here's the Brooklyn Bridge, the Manhattan Bridge, and the Williamsburg Bridge — a close match to the trio of bridges connecting Brooklyn to Manhattan.

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In reality, there's much more space between the Manhattan Bridge and the Williamsburg Bridge, but the game's approximation is quite close.

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The general shape and layout of NYC is spot on:

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Aside from the missing ferry terminal and a general scaling down, "Spider-Man" nails lower Manhattan — just compare the previous image to this one from real life:

The Flatiron Building divides Broadway from 5th Avenue, and sits just below Madison Square Park at 23rd Street.

And, as previously mentioned, the statue of William Henry Seward that's usually in Madison Square Park appears in Union Square in "Spider-Man."
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In reality, Madison Square Park is larger and more detailed. Where the chairs are in-game is where a fountain usually sits. Where the sculpture is, you'd see a massive line of people stretching from the original Shake Shack location.

Alongside the East River, the United Nations Headquarters is near-perfectly modeled. It's a striking building, both in-game and in real life:

St. Patrick's Cathedral is also given the re-creation treatment, and it's stunningly accurate:

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Here's the real thing for comparison:

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Rockefeller Center gets the shrinking treatment as well, with the whole area getting shrunk down to a much smaller version of the real thing. Here's 30 Rockefeller Plaza, where "Saturday Night Live" (and many other shows) are filmed:

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The NBC Studios marquee is nowhere to be found, to say nothing of the Nintendo World Store and the gorgeous golden statue of angels.

It's not a perfect re-creation in-game, but it's damn close — having been inside Grand Central many times, it was bizarre exploring the location in a game:

The Manhattan of "Spider-Man" ends in mid-Harlem. There's no Marcus Garvey Park, and no Apollo Theater, to say nothing of entire neighborhoods like Washington Heights.

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The further north you go in Manhattan, the less alike the map is to actual Manhattan. But in general, the re-creation of Manhattan in "Spider-Man" is more detailed, more thorough, more downright impressive than any other game I've ever played.

It's a genuine marvel.

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And now, a few bonuses — like The Avengers building, which is nearly as tall as One World Trade:

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And Doctor Strange's Sanctum Santorum:

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And the Embassy of Wakanda:

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Oh, how could I tell that this building was the Embassy of Wakanda? Simple:

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There's so much more about "Spider-Man" that feels like a love letter to New York City, including Spidey outright riding the subway while staring down at his phone — like a true New Yorker.

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I didn't include much of Wall Street here, or The High Line, or The Whitney Museum of American Art, or Chinatown, or ... there's a lot. "Spider-Man" does an incredibly impressive job of re-creating a Manhattan very similar to the real thing.